Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers play the first of five inter-conference games, closing a two-game home stand against the 2-1 Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Just like the 49ers, Jacksonville is coming off a close home win against a division rival, with the Jaguars disposing of the Houston Texans with a 17-10 win in Week 3. Now, they make the cross-country trip to Santa Clara to take on an undefeated 49ers team that squeaked out a win over the Cardinals last Sunday.
In what promises to be a defensive battle, these are the numbers to know as the 49ers look to extend their win streak to four:
Jacksonville pass-catchers have dropped 14 passes this season, the most in the league.
That’s five more drops than the next team (the Jets). And while many have mentioned Brian Thomas’ drop issues, it’s been a team-wide issue.
While Thomas leads the Jaguars with four drops on 25 targets, he’s closely trailed by Dyami Brown, who has three drops on only 14 targets. Behind Brown are Travis Hunter, Parker Washington, and Travis Etienne with two drops, and Hunter Long being the sixth Jaguar with a drop, with one on four targets.
Now, the receivers might not be entirely at fault. While the drops are an issue, Trevor Lawrence hasn’t exactly been accurate to start the season. His 55.8 completion percentage is the second lowest of 31 qualified quarterbacks, only better than No. 1 pick Cam Ward’s 54.5 percent. And it’s not like Jacksonville doesn’t pass a lot, with Lawrence’s 113 pass attempts fifth-most in the league.
The drops haven’t helped Lawrence’s completion percentage, but Lawrence hasn’t helped himself either. Pro Football Reference has Lawrence with 14 off-target throws. With the number of pass attempts he has, his bad throw percentage rate is at 13 percent (seventh-lowest rate in the league); however, the drops combined with his bad throws have led to struggles for the Jacksonville offense.
Throw in Lawrence’s four interceptions (tied for second-most), the 49ers could be a prime position to intercept an opposing quarterback for the first time since Week 11 of last season.
The Jaguars’ defense forces a turnover on 26.5 percent of drives, best in the league.
While Jacksonville’s offense has been around league average, the defense has been the reason for their 2-1 start. The defensive unit has forced three turnovers in each of the first three games of the season, including two interceptions in Week 1 against Bryce Young, three against Jake Browning in relief of Joe Burrow in Week 2, and two more in Week 3 against C.J. Stroud. Include a fumble recovery in Week 1 and 3, and that’s the nine turnovers forced by Jacksonville to lead the league.
The interceptions have been spread fairly evenly, with cornerback Jourdan Lewis leading the team with two, tied with four others for most in the league. Behind Lewis are linebackers Devin Lloyd and Foyesade Oluokun, and safeties Eric Murray, Andrew Wingard, and Antonio Johnson, all with...
